Cover Story
As economic growth languishes and worries about the specter of deflation mount, much-needed infrastructure development and new sources of project financing could provide a panacea to global growth.

It is essential for companies to work with banking partners they know they can trust. Global Finance’s annual ranking of World’s Safest Banks have been the recognized and trusted standard of financial counterparty safety for more than 20 years.

This year, we updated the name of the awards to reflect the extent to which digitization is transforming our lives in general and banking in particular. By renaming this as the Digital Bank Awards, we are making the competition more inclusive of current technology and more future-focused in anticipation of developments still to come.

TRENDS | RENMINBI TRADING
Even though Toronto is the center of Canada’s financial industry, much of the country’s trade with China passes through Vancouver. Groups in both cities have decided to work together to promote Canada as a trading hub for the renminbi.

CAPITAL MARKETS | FOREIGN EXCHANGE
It is a changing world for FX traders. Regulatory uncertainty and low volatility are putting a damper on the foreign exchange market, with spreads narrowing by 20% already this year—to record lows.

COVER STORY: CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Still in their infancy, cryptocurrencies could change the way that companies manage payments for the goods and services that are the essence of global trade. As the bitcoin surge picks up momentum, corporate financial executives are wondering what it means for their business and how they can manage the risk of adopting—or not adopting—digital currencies.

During his trip to China in mid-May, US Treasury secretary Jacob Lew repeated a favorite Washington refrain: Authorities in Beijing should do more to allow the renminbi to trade freely against the dollar.

Inflation in the eurozone slipped to 0.5% at an annual rate in March, its lowest level since 2009. The persistence of low inflation prompted policymakers to discuss quantitative easing (QE) and a negative deposit rate, putting some downward pressure on the euro.

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt The European Central Bank’s refusal to ease monetary policy in the face of below-target inflation boosted the euro to its highest levels of the year in March, while the British pound rose ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt The Japanese yen and the dollar rode an updraft in recent weeks caused by a flight to safety amid the emerging markets crisis. Meanwhile, the euro also was strengthened by the European Central Bank, ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt Central bank policies in the major economies will likely be the main guide for currency exchange rates this year, analysts say. Janet Yellen’s confirmation as the new head of the Federal Reserve ...

Profits: Lost in translation Companies are struggling mightily to manage currency exposure in the face of rising exchange rate volatility. According to a study by risk management consultancy FiReapps , 846 Fortune 2000 companies that generate 15% or more of ...

ANNUAL SURVEY — STABILITY AMID CHANGE By Gordon Platt A global investigation into trading irregularities has not hampered growth or innovation in one of the world’s largest and most volatile markets—foreign exchange. The $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt Despite the euro’s surprisingly strong showing in 2013, analysts expect the dollar to advance against most major currencies this year. The euro won’t be allowed to continue to appreciate, or it will ...

Doing Business: Who Improved The Most In 2012/13 “In 2012/13, 29 economies implemented three or more reforms improving their business regulatory systems as measured by Doing Business. Ten stand out as having narrowed the distance to frontier the most. Together, ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS The outlook for the euro has worsened, following a slowdown in inflation in the eurozone to the lowest level in nearly four years. The European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate to a record low of ...

It’s been a tough few weeks for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Despite a concerted bid by Abe and other leaders in Tokyo earlier this year to weaken the yen, the Japanese currency actually firmed in October against the US ...

EMERGING STATUS By Gordon Platt Emerging markets currencies are beginning to get some respect from central banks. The Federal Reserve’s decision to delay tapering its monetary stimulus has provided a temporary boost to emerging markets currencies and financial markets. And ...

RENMINBI RUCKUS By Gordon Platt London and Paris are vying to become Europe’s renminbi trading hub. Paris is challenging London, the leading center of foreign exchange trading globally, to be the hub of renminbi trading in Europe. ...